1.21.2010

Shit from elsewhere

Some interesting news and notes across the Atlantic and Pacific:

Looks like Belgium is running out of beer(how did that move to InBev treat you Anheuser Busch?) due to, what else-strikes and protesters.




I don't drink Headbusters any longer, but don't fuck with my Stella you douchebags. That article states that beer consumption is down across Europe which this author finds remarkable. It's almost enough to make one pine away for the days when Europe was a fine hotbed of religious persecution, dysfunctional alliances, and machine gun manufacturers.


The other bit of news comes to us from Japan, home to weird shit even before Sekigahara. Did you know that one of the world's most popular brands of Scotch whisky hails from Yoichi? You may see this mean bastard on package store shelves very soon.


Import laws have been very hard on this distiller. That's not surprising though, given that even Seagrams had to settle disputes before being allowed to sell a Kentucky Bourbon(Four Roses) in large amounts here in the states. Strange. Even though I don't drink from the malt whisky tree/style I still welcome any beverage that is cleared to move here in the States. The founder of this distillery traveled to Scotland in the early 20th century to learn their secrets, and so the first manufacturing facility for this stuff was established in 1934, at a time when Japan's primary exports were a Sino occupation force and torpedo bombers.


Nikka is owned these days by Asahi, whom most of us will recognize as a fairly popular Japanese beer. Looks like they used their stroke to break down the prohibition against their Scotch being sold in the US. I doubt very seriously that I'll ever drink a drop of it, but hey this shit's not about me and my bullshit opinion. At the very least I can appreciate the challenge of making malt whisky in a climate that differs significantly from Scotland. Cheers!

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